The frequency of attacks in the country has increased a lot in April, aiming in particular the Hazara Shiite minority, considered heretical by jihadists of the Islamic State organization (IS).
Le Monde with AFP
At least ten people were killed in an explosion that struck a Sunni mosque from Kabul on Friday April 29. A series of bombing deadly attacks, for some claimed by the Islamic State (IS) organization, have caused dozens of deaths in the country in the past two weeks, at the end of the holy month of Ramadan.
“The explosion took place two hours after Friday prayer while the faithful carried out rituals,” AFP) told the deputy spokesman for the Ministry of the Interior , adding that around fifteen people had been injured.
Ambulances were present near the Khalifa Saib mosque, in the center of the capital, to transport bloody victims to a nearby hospital, noted an AFP journalist. Taliban prevented the press from entering the hospital.
“Many faithful were at the mosque (…) when the explosion took place. Several victims were overthrown [by the breath],” a survivor told AFP.
This explosion occurs a few hours after the dissemination of a message from the country’s supreme leader, Haibatullah Akhundzada, before Eid-el-Fitr, the Fête de la breate du fast, which marks the end of Ramadan. He did not mention the recent attacks, rejoicing only that Afghanistan was able to create “a strong Islamic and national army”, as well as a “solid intelligence service”.
vague of attacks in April
Safety had greatly improved in Afghanistan after the Taliban’s return to power in August, even if the Islamic State in Khorassan (IS-K), the regional branch of IS, continued to carry out attacks murderers. The frequency of the attacks has however increased in April, aiming in particular the Hazara Shiite minority, considered to be heretical by the jihadists of IS.
Thursday, bomb attacks, claimed by IS, against two minibuses carrying Shiite passengers, left at least nine dead in Mazar-E Charif (North). On April 21, a Shiite mosque of this city had also been the target of a bomb. At least twelve people had been killed and 58 injured, and again IS had claimed the attack. The next day, at least 36 people, including children, were killed in another bomb attack against a Sunni mosque frequented by Sufis during Friday prayer in Kunduz (northeast). A few days earlier, explosions in a school for boys in a Shiite district of Kabul had left six dead.
The Shiite community, which mainly belongs to the Hazara ethnic group and represents between 10 % and 20 % of the Afghan population (about 40 million inhabitants), has been persecuted for a long time in this Sunni majority country.
The Taliban try to minimize the threat of IS-K and lead a merciless fight against the group, which they have been fighting for years. They multiplied the raids, especially in the eastern province of Nangarhar, and arrested hundreds of men accused of being part. For a few months, they assure that they have defeated the IS-K, but analysts believe that the group still constitutes the main security challenge for the new Afghan power.